Following his collapse at Euro 2020, Eriksen’s Inter Milan contract was cancelled by mutual consent because players fitted with an ICD cannot compete in Serie A.<\/p>\n
The Premier League and Bundesliga do not have the same regulations.<\/p>\n
An ICD is a device about half the size of a mobile phone with thin wires leading to the area around the heart.<\/p>\n
There are two main types of ICD.<\/p>\n
One is fitted under the skin, usually near the armpit, and acts like a mini defibrillator.<\/p>\n
“It works 24 hours a day and is constantly monitoring the heart rhythm,” Aneil Malhotra, a professor in sports cardiology at Manchester Metropolitan University, told BBC Radio 5 Live.<\/p>\n
“If the heart develops a dangerous rhythm that could lead to a sudden cardiac arrest, then the device can rapidly detect it and deliver treatment.<\/p>\n
“That includes a shock, if necessary, to restore a normal rhythm. It takes out the human factor, as we saw at the Euros, where CPR had to be delivered externally.<\/p>\n
“An ICD is already in the patient and saves crucial time.”<\/p>\n
The other main type of ICD is usually fitted in the space just below the collarbone and, like a pacemaker, can also send a regular electrical signal if it detects the heart is beating too slowly.<\/p>\n
Eriksen’s first collapse came nine years after Fabrice Muamba’s near-fatal injury<\/a> at Tottenham and 19 years after Marc-Vivien Foe tragically lost his life in Lyon.<\/a><\/p>\n